Sunday, 1 July 2018

Going GREEN - Keep this in mind the next time you decide on changing plants in your apartment balcony......

Its a beautiful sight seeing our buildings of the future come alive with wonderful green house type Eco-friendly buildings. Cemento Group believe in a sustainable future with new technological advances in building materials to wonderfully appointed architectural designed buildings. However there is an issue that arises and it's not an instant one. Builders and developers would agree that detecting water penetration points is important to isolate immediately before occupants take possession as this can be a timely exhausting issue at a later date. The above picture shows planter boxes, concrete planter boxes. These planter boxes are structured as per the below photo;

The photo shows the planter box underlay. The membrane underneath the dirt and the plants that make our apartment buildings look appealing and blend in with nature. What Cemento Group have found when discovering water penetration issues raised by occupants;The underlay membrane is an installation requirement. The membrane is there for a reason and the reason is (WATER&RAIN) When it rains the filtration system takes out the unnecessary clunky dirty bits and filters the water so it is in liquid form and able to drain out as per the drain point detailed above. Cemento Group have found on numerous occasions whereby the drainage points have been blocked as the occupants have decided to "Change Plants" and take out all the filtration system and insert dirt and dirt only. Well you only have to guess what happens when the drain above is blocked by dirt. Cemento Group recommend that any Tenants or Owners considering changing plants, please ensure that the membrane is re-inserted as per its original condition. This is a strata maintenance issue as any occupant is required under the strata schemes act to advise them prior any modifications as such. It will not damage anything instantly, though over time with the back fill of water ongoing day after day, it will only be a matter of time before damage is being made. Whether that's from back fill where water is penetrating cavity walls directly beneath them to water overflowing causing a white calcite type issue to appear. These types of defects are essentially difficult to see or encounter, though Cemento Group are mindful of such issues occurring and no doubt have been in situations before where damage has been done to numerous apartments and the point of blame has been the developer. Well, no, this is a mandatory compliance process as per the strata schemes act. Please be mindful if you are on higher floors of an apartment building to either advise your strata manager or employ a professional to do so. #101 Defect Blunders - Water Penetration caused by removal of planter box membrane. Information courtesy of

The holess vanity All excited moving into your new apartment and the appliances have all been delivered. Though this article may come as no surprise, many have had this happen to them. When taking apart the washing machine covering you suddenly get a shock as there is no "hole" for the water connection underneath the vanity sink.

1. Keep calm. 2. You may have purchased or leased an apartment where the vanity was customised to allow for the washing machine to be inserted in the laundry area. 3. If the laundry vanity is custom made, in most cases will not have come with a hole. 4. As per the picture to the left, shows a builder drilling a hole through the frame of a vanity, to allow access to connect water and drainage water. Cemento Group understand's moving can be a stressful process, Cemento Group doe's have a round circle drill lying about for crisis situations such as these. So we are glad to assist in these awkward and stressful moments should you need a hole cut. We do not engage in hole cutting simply for reasons as cabinetry is brand new and every washing machine is a different size. In situations such as these, although it may be a stressful period, prevention is always better than cure. The issues we have had from disconnecting washing machine incorrectly are as follows;- Water penetration at rear of vanity, seeping water flowing onto carpet, carpet then becomes wet and mouldy over a period. - In some instances, we have had at times where an occupant has re-leased a premises and complained about mould. Only to then realise that the previous occupant hadn't connected the washing machine, and neither the agent or occupant picked up on the issue during the course of time. - Then the builder is pointed out as the cause and in most cases builders rarely go back to fix defects, and simply pay the damages. Silly yes. Though a very important process to keep in mind when you are moving into a brand new apartment. So please, prevention is better than cure. Our role as the builder is not to engage in additional works or maintenance of the apartment after handover. It is imperative that any concerns are brought to the attention of Cemento Group prior handover of the apartment. The bouncing Washing Machine

Many have been privy to such bloopers yet we can laugh it off move forward. Though for some its a costly mistake, it very much happens all the time. Over time Cemento Group have had its fair share of blunders, though this one is ultimately a classic case of "pass the buck". This actually transpired not very long ago. Where a tenant had called the agent screaming that the premises flooded with water and the builder was at fault for water penetration to the apartment. Its important to know for many reasons that we are not simply on standby awaiting faults, it typically doesn't work like that. In this case as you can see in example (1) the back of the washing machine shows three red circles. These circles are for where a new washing machine is delivered with what is called "Transit Bolts" example below (4).

Although you can hear the washing machine rumble as though the entire floor is ratting like an earthquake has struck your building, have no fear, you have simply just forgotten to unplug the bolts. Yes we men have all had a spare of the moment blunders and I for one can raise my hand for admitting a blunder like this. Though I was fortunate, some pay hefty price for a slip up. $$ The price you pay $$1. The funny tenant decided to contact the agent and shame the builder by advising that water has damaged the apartment.

2. The agent calls Cemento Group saying that water has damaged the apartment please fix the defect. Now, builders know how frustrating this can be, particularly when you have triple checked everything. 3. Upon assessment of the water damage, it was if someone had ripped the wall connection off the socket.The occupant went out for the day, leaving the brand new washing machine on while in the rear the transit bolts were not taken off. Given the size and the fact that the washing machine was powerful and was not held down with brackets. The entire apartment carpet and wood flooring was damaged. Yes, that's right, damaged. The water hose broke, along with the power button, causing water to spill out at heavy speeds. By the time the occupant returned the damage was done. So to everyone that now knows what could happen to washine machines when they are deliveed, now knows what the washing machine can do as it will bounce around until the load of washing is complete, the bouncing of the washing machine causes the pulling and pushing of the hose, the hose only can hold so much. Tips.1. Always unplug transit bolts before connecting washing machine2. Never assume there is a hole underneath a vanity. 3. Laugh it off when everything seems too hard. Its not your fault its a simply mistake. Cemento Group care for the maintenance of your apartment, it is important that ALL occupants are kept up to date.